TUSCALOOSA,
Alabama — It took Michigan just a few hours to announce the departure of Al Borges before news leaked of its new
offensive coordinator's hiring.

Alabama
will take a little longer to replace Doug
Nussmeier, who reportedly accepted the Wolverine job Wednesday night. A
number of names entered the discussion to be Nick Saban's fourth offensive coordinator at Alabama.

Phil Savage, the analyst on Alabama's radio broadcasts
and executive director of the Senior Bowl, mentioned two names on his Twitter
account.

Neuheisel
has been out of coaching since he was fired by UCLA in 2011.

Napier,
who finished his first season as a full-time assistant after serving as an
offensive analyst in 2011, has experience calling plays. He was the offensive
coordinator at Clemson from 2009-10, but was fired after his second season
ended with a 6-7 record and the 87th-ranked total offense.

Another
name receiving buzz is Mike Groh.
The former Alabama receivers coach held the same position this season with the
Chicago Bears. From 2006-08, Groh was the Virginia offensive coordinator. He
too was fired from that position.

Then
there's Lane Kiffin.

The
former USC/Tennessee/Oakland Raiders coach's name was popular on the social
mediums Wednesday night given his recent trip to Tuscaloosa. Saban brought him
in as an offensive consultant in December.

"Lane
is a really good offensive coach, and I've always had a tremendous amount of
respect for him, just to come in and brainstorm a little bit just some
professional ideas with our guys, I think, is a real positive thing," Saban
said on Dec. 17.

CoachingSearch.com also mentionedFrank Scelfo, the Jacksonville Jaguars quarterbacks coach, and USC offensive coordinator Clay Helton as a long shot.

The
new coordinator inherits an offense with several skilled players returning and
at least most of the offensive line. The glaring question mark is the
quarterback position with AJ McCarron
graduating after three years as a starter.